


Into The Sun

by ncts00line



Series: I Found A Home In you - Johnhyuck [5]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Exhaustion, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 09:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16595636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ncts00line/pseuds/ncts00line
Summary: donghyuck is exhausted





	Into The Sun

Donghyuck was born to be a performer. He had a great, unique voice, he put his heart into every performance, and despite being the “joker” of the group, he knew when to turn this side of him off and take what he was doing seriously. He loved his group, his job, and he knew he was amongst the lucky few allowed to debut.

But Donghyuck had been running for months on end, with minimum rest, with no soon end in sight, and it was taking its toll on him. Donghyuck knew that this is what he signed up for, and that it was always like this around comeback season, but he was tired.

Johnny tried his best not to worry about the younger, but everytime the two came into contact Donghyuck seemed more worn out, his smile struggling more and more to reach his eyes. He could tell the younger was trying his best to not let anyone else know he was struggling, but Johnny knew Donghyuck inside out at this point; Johnny just hoped he could catch Donghyuck when he eventually fell.

 

Donghyuck was guilty of being a hypocrite. If he found out you weren't looking after yourself, he'd be outside your room in 10 seconds flat, nagging before he even got to the door. However, Johnny couldn't count the amount of times he had to carry Donghyuck into bed because he had fallen asleep in the corner of the practice room, thinking about how scraping 6 hours sleep can’t be healthy for the barely adult. The amount of times he had seen Taeyong, or Doyoung or once, even Taeil dragging Donghyuck into the kitchen and cooking a quick something for him, because the younger couldn't quite remember the last time he ate a proper meal, was also concerning.

He knew it wasn't Donghyuck’s fault, he was only 18, and with how much Donghyuck had going on, it honestly wasn't surprising when Donghyuck collapsed, but that doesn’t mean it hurt any less.

 

It had been an early morning, all the members having to be up and ready by half 5 in the morning. Because of how early it was, Johnny found himself with a very clingy Donghyuck wrapped around his back. When he finally separated himself from Donghyuck, it didn’t escape Johnny’s notice how Donghyuck swayed without the support of anyone else. They all climbed into the car, Johnny giving up his front seat so Donghyuck didn’t have to climb into the back seats - not that he looked very capable of doing so. Donghyuck fell back asleep as soon as he sat down.

The drive to the music show wasn't long, but it was long enough to allow Donghyuck to fall back into a deep sleep, resulting in a very whiny Donghyuck clinging even harder to whoever was closest, which happened to be Yuta. Yuta also happened to be fiercely protective of Donghyuck, and so allowed the younger to bury into his side while the unit moved inside. 

The recording flew by, everyone pushing down any fatigue to appear lively in front of the cameras and fans. Donghyuck was particularly good at this, pretending everything was ok, but with every performance, it was as if the fire he normally performed with was slowly burning out. When 127 were finally allowed to climb off the stage, in the corner of his eye, Johnny found Donghyuck crouched over, hand grasping at the wall, in attempts to not fall over. Johnny frowned and quickly weaved himself between bodies and over to Donghyuck’s side. The older leaned down and whispered, “You ok, buddy?” into Donghyuck ear.

“Yeah. don’t worry, hyung, I’m fine. Just felt a little lightheaded.” Johnny's frown didn't leave his face as he hoisted Donghyuck upright by grabbing under his armpits. “Donghyuck,” forcing the younger to make eye contact with him, “If you needed anything, you would come to me, right?”

Donghyuck shifted out of Johnny's grip, returned the olders eye contact and smiled.

“Of course I would, hyung.”

 

Mark and Donghyuck had a schedule with dream next, 127 heading back to the dorm before everyone met up again for an afternoon practice, Johnny hugging Donghyuck a little longer than normal, before allowing him to climb into the other car with Mark. Taeyong caught the worried look Johnny threw to the back of Donghyuck’s head, grasping his hand and squeezing it reassuringly, before dragging Johnny into the other car. The pair were well trained in how they communicated with each other, Johnny knowing that that meant “Don’t worry, he's got this.”

Before Johnny knew it, it was 1pm, and he was walking into the practice room, greeted with Mark lazily stretching and Donghyuck curled in the corner with his headphones in, seemingly asleep again. He woke up upon hearing everyone pouring into the room, chatting and laughing. Looking more closely. Johnny could see the hastily covered bags under Donghyuck eyes and how when Donghyuck stood up, his legs started shaking. Johnny hoped this practice would be quick, so Donghyuck could rest. 

 

Donghyuck wanted to be anywhere but in that practice room. He just felt so tired and sluggish, and he just wanted to sleep until the end of the year. But he couldn't, his schedule was practically jam packed well into January and he could already feel himself wearing thin. 

Standing up, Donghyuck thought if he just get through this practice, he could go home and sleep, even for just a couple of hours, before he had to go out again. 127 all moved into formation, the music to Regular filling the room, but not quite reaching Donghyucks ears. Donghyuck supposes the muffled music should of been a warning sign that something was up, but he wasn't the only one suffering in here, he couldn't be selfish. He tried to keep his moves as clean as possible, which was hard considering his legs felt like jelly (probably another warning sign). 

Donghyucks line was nearly over when he tripped and passed out, what was normally a high five, turned into Johnny scrambling to grab on Donghyuck’s hand to avoid hitting his head on the floor. Donghyuck was lowered into Doyoung’s lap, Winwin and Mark already running out the room to try and find a manager. Johnny felt frozen, unsure what to do, standing over Doyoung and Donghyuck. He should of known that Donghyuck was exhausted, a small flare of anger at himself for not forcing it out of Donghyuck before. But right now, all Johnny could do was wait for Donghyuck to wake up.

 

When Donghyuck woke up, he was no longer in the practice room, but in his bed in the dorm. Johnny was sat on the end of Jaehyun's bed on his phone, as if he was waiting for Donghyuck to wake. The past couple of months played in Donghyucks head, pointing out many signs that maybe Donghyuck was being overworked.

It began in August, the lingering success of Empathy and the excitement of the NCT Dream comeback looming up ahead clung to them all like the sweat from the too warm air. 

They practiced religiously, wanting what would probably be their last comeback as seven, to be the best. The youngest unit had been together for such a long time, having to find friendship within each other when they joined the company. They had never known anything apart from being together when it came to performing. 

Donghyuck was particularly unnerved about this being Mark's last dream comeback, always having had the older by his side on stage. The thought of not having Mark to go between Dream and 127 with, felt foreign to Donghyuck, the uncertainty hanging low in his chest. 

He was trying his best to avoid being selfish, knowing more than anyone how much Mark needed rest, but Mark was almost always beside Donghyuck; where Mark went, Donghyuck followed.

September came, and Donghyuck fell back into familiar habits and routines with the comeback.There were more highs than lows,

The comeback did well, not winning them anything, but the pure delight of being together cancelled out any disappointment. Promotions came and went by like a speeding train, filling this time for preparations for the 3 days and 4 shows they would perform at the end of the month. When We Go Up era finally ended, there was a slight bittersweetness to it all, a quiet hollowness. 

But Donghyuck could not dwell on feelings,forcing himself to change personas for 127. The ever fading light signalled October was here. What was once shorts and bucket hats, became turtleneck shirts and big coats. NCT 127 found themselves in America for this comeback, which filled Donghyuck with apprehension, the familiarity of comebacks slipping through his fingers. Debuting in a foreign country, with a language you can just about get your head around, unsure about how people would feel about your group, your concept, is difficult but Donghyuck tried his hardest, again throwing his all into everything. 

Coming back to Korea to promote was nice, no language barrier or culture shock, just excessive jetlag. They handled it well and Regular promotions were over in a flash. Donghyuck felt like it was all going so fast and he couldn't catch a moment to breathe, to gather his thoughts. He was exhausted, but he couldn't stop yet, he still had the repackage and the promotions and the dream shows…

His thoughts were interrupted by Johnny kneeling by his bed, before he asked “Do you feel better?”

Donghyuck threw his arms around Johnny's neck, nodding. “I'm so sorry if I worried any of you, I’m just a little tired and I'm not sure why I collapsed, ok maybe I do, but I can deal with it ok, there's no need to worry about me ok-”

“Hyuck, breathe, its ok, we aren't mad. We just need you to be more open about how you feel. What if next time, it's not just in the practice room, it’s on stage?” Johnny placed himself on the edge of Donghyucks bed, the youngers arms still around him. He felt the younger nod.

“Sorry.”

“There's no need to apologize, just please be more open to us.”

He knew he couldn't completely get rid of the causes of this, Johnny just wanted to be there for Donghyuck, so things like this wouldn't happen again. It's not that Johnny forgot how old Donghyuck was, Johnny was fully aware he would be an adult next year. But more so, Johnny would forget about how quickly Donghyuck had been forced to grow up, missing out on the stage where he was allowed to been seen as a child, allowed to make mistakes. Johnny feels Donghyuck’s grip tighten, and Johnny hugs the boy close to him, fully aware how cruel the world could be.

Johnny whispered into Donghyuck’s ear, “I'm always here for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> this isnt much, this is just me seeing how busy markhyuck are, and personal experience and wow u got a fic! its like 12:30am so sorry for any mistakes this is probably full of mistakes and the ending is super rushed im sorry anyway imma sleep. thank you for reading my twt is @dreamiesintl bye !


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